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+-- Thread: Shellac Solvent (/showthread.php?tid=7343588)
Shellac Solvent - ChuckL2 - 10-11-2018
I would be interested in knowing whether Isopropyl Alcohol, 99 percent, would be a decent solvent for shellac. Has anyone tried it?
RE: Shellac Solvent - Admiral - 10-11-2018
(10-11-2018, 03:43 PM)ChuckL2 Wrote: I would be interested in knowing whether Isopropyl Alcohol, 99 percent, would be a decent solvent for shellac. Has anyone tried it?
When I looked into this a while ago, I remember that it has too much water in it and while it can be used, it is not optimal. They sell anhydrous denatured alcohol for a premium just for that reason, but I've never had a problem with the big box DNA.
RE: Shellac Solvent - Rob Young - 10-12-2018
(10-11-2018, 03:43 PM)ChuckL2 Wrote: I would be interested in knowing whether Isopropyl Alcohol, 99 percent, would be a decent solvent for shellac. Has anyone tried it?
Would probably work but you might find even that little bit of water is a problem. The cans of DNA from the hardware store that can sometimes be 50% methanol work just fine. The methanol is a bit more hazardous than ethanol so be careful, etc.
And probably the best accessory you can get if you are going to mix your own stuff is a cheap coffee grinder. Turn the flakes into powder and they will go into solution much faster with their greater surface area to volume ratio.
RE: Shellac Solvent - MichaelMouse - 10-12-2018
(10-11-2018, 03:43 PM)ChuckL2 Wrote: I would be interested in knowing whether Isopropyl Alcohol, 99 percent, would be a decent solvent for shellac. Has anyone tried it?
Used to be a standard answer to the brush stroke problem. Worked a treat when I used it.
Since the limit of ethanol distillation is ~95%, there's no worry about 99% (dehydrated) isopropanol. Probably explains the high price of either.
Limit of distillation on isopropyl is ~89%
RE: Shellac Solvent - Alan S - 10-13-2018
The reason people worry more about water in isopropanol is that the common source, rubbing alcohol, is isopropanol with too much water in it. The 99% isopropanol will be fine, and will slow down the drying compared to ethanol. As MM points out, there is likely no problem as long as the water amount is less than the composition of the azeotrope, what he refers to as the limit of distillation. You can get away with more water in isopropanol than in ethanol.
RE: Shellac Solvent - ChuckL2 - 10-24-2018
(10-11-2018, 03:43 PM)ChuckL2 Wrote: I would be interested in knowing whether Isopropyl Alcohol, 99 percent, would be a decent solvent for shellac. Has anyone tried it?
Thank you all. Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to this thread.
My thought was that if isopropyl alcohol is safe for topical use as "rubbing alcohol" it must be much safer than methanol. When I get a chance, I will give it a try.